First Posted: 1/9/2015
A ticket to the national championship football game is no free pass to miss class at Ohio State University, officials told students this week.
In an email sent to students, the dean of undergraduate education warned students that missing class for the football game on Monday — or any day next week — could put them at risk of being cut from their class.
Students traveling to Dallas for the game against the University of Oregon must work it out with their professors, who can choose whether the game is an acceptable excuse from class, wrote Wayne Carlson, the vice provost for undergraduate studies.
“While your team spirit and loyalty to the Buckeyes are appreciated, we ask that you be sure to take the steps needed to minimize any impact on your academic progress or success,” Carlson wrote. “It is important to know that if you miss classes in the first week, you could be disenrolled from those courses and your seat given to another student on the waitlist.”
Monday is the first day of spring semester at Ohio State. Carlson’s message applies to Tuesday, too, in case students are thinking of taking a day off to celebrate, or recover. Students across Ohio petitioned Gov. John Kasich to call off school Tuesday, but Kasich rejected the plea.
OSU officials said they have no plans to cancel class Tuesday, victory or not.
“It is important to note that we support our Buckeyes as they work towards winning a national champion,” OSU spokesman Gary Lewis wrote in a statement, “and as an academic institution, remind our students, faculty and staff of the importance of balancing both with the return of classes this semester.”
